China's Wanda buys SoftBank-backed Legendary Entertainment for $3.5Bn

Legendary's productions include the "Batman" trilogy, "Inception" and "The Hangover." The company says its movies have grossed more than $12 billion worldwide.ETtech | Updated: January 13, 2016, 16:50 IST

Wanda Group is buying Hollywood's Legendary Entertainment, the maker of films such as "Batman," for $3.5 billion in the first Chinese acquisition of a major U.S. film company.

Wanda, whose chairman, Wang Jianlin, is one of China's richest business people, has expanded rapidly into the film industry. It bought the U.S. cinema chain AMC in 2012 and is developing an $8 billion studio complex in eastern China.

With its latest acquisition, Wanda's film businesses will include a full range of production, distribution and exhibition, Wang said in a statement. The company, headquartered in the northeastern port city of Dalian, also has interests in hotels, retailing and real estate.

Legendary's Thomas Tull would remain chairman and chief executive, with responsibility for day-to-day operations. "Wanda and Legendary will create a completely new international entertainment company," said Tull in the Wanda statement.

"Wanda will help Legendary increase its market opportunities, especially in the fast-growing China market," said Wang.

Legendary's productions include the "Batman" trilogy, "Inception" and "The Hangover." The company says its movies have grossed more than $12 billion worldwide.

In October last year, SoftBank had invested $250 million in Legendary Entertainment and had formed a strategic joint venture to exploit Legendary’s intellectual property rights, across television, digital, licensing and merchandising and other ancillary lines.

It had stated plans of using these rights to deliver content across various over-the-top or mobile platforms with a particular focus on India and China markets. SoftBank's Nikesh Arora had joined Legendary's Board of Directors as part of this investment.